" BAAADDDDBOOOYYYY... Come Out and Plaaaayyyy... "

When BADBOY was Bad boooooyyyyyy....

When Puffy Lorded over the HOTTEST artist roster on the planet

When we knew him by only one bleeding name... 'Puffy'

When gangster rap begun earning millions and white kids started getting into it (much to the chagrin of their parents).

During the HEIGHT of the BadBoy/Deathrow beef... actually i think this brought it out to the forefront. I mean, if i was on the opposing coast and record company, the intimidation brought on by every bass 'thump' during this performance would have me running 'drive-bys' as well.

Ahhhhh . . . i rememeber when i first watched this back in 95... WHAAAAATTTT!!! Intimidation.... Only rivalled by the the Intro for the NBA's Boston Celtics, during their header with the LA lakers this year during the playoffs.

Visualize this...

There is the loud crackling of thunder, blotches of dark opening up to light, but you can only make out silhouettes. Finally, you make out puffy, head down on an alter praying over the ominous riffs of a crying acoustic guitar...

           

                        "Now i lay me down to sleep, i pray the Lord my soul to keep, 

                         And if i should die before i wake, I pray to God i die a BADBOY

                         God Bless all my people in the streets 

                         God bless my people making Hot Beats

                         God bless all my people Locked Down

                            ... I live in the EAST, and Imma DIE in the EAST"

Whaaaaaaaaaattt?? Next thing, the lights break out and a rapper jumps out of backstage doing this verse...

                          "Just... like ... Uniblab robotic kickin' flab

                            My flavor be the badder
                           chitter chatter, Madder than the Mad Hatter
                           I bet you my sh*t come out fatter
                           to turn your body into antimatter... "

At this point, i thought my heart would come out of my mouth, land on my palm and explode into bits witht he energy. I wouldn't want to be a DEATHROW toilet cleaner, let alone an artiste at this point. Sh*t don't stop there however, Puff decides to further twits in that ice-pick by bringing out not only Craig mack... but Faith Evans (U Used to Love Me), Total (Can't U See), Junior MAFIA (repped by KIM, 'Player's Anthem'), and then FINALLY the KING takes stage; The Notorious B.I.G performes 'One More Chance' to close the performance with wigglets filling the stage carrying platinum certifications and self-hype picket signs.

                              

                          "She's sick of that song, oh how it's so long

                           Thought he worked It until I handled my biz
                           There I is; 

                           Major Payne like Damon Wayans
                           Low Down Dirty even like his brother Keenan
                           Schemin;

                          Don't leave ya girl round me
                           True player for real, ask Puff Daddy... "

Some genius (said without NO sarcasm at all, I promise) decides to steal shots of the audience, especially DeathRow peeps . . . The humiliation is PITIFUL!

Please enjoy this nostalgic journey with me. If this doesn't take you back to that period when HipHop music (albeit commercial) made you want to grow up and be a rapper, write me and curse me out ;-)

Extra added merriment for you to enjoy during the holidays:

Craig Mack - Flava In Ya Ear (Remix)

" Whaddupp Doc? "

Been awhile hasn't it. Oh yea.. it has. Been handling some existential sh*t. Anyway, i'm back again in your arreeeaaaaaaaaaa, and some good news... well... just News.... There are going to be added contributors to the blog, starting with my brother. Apparently, people actually LIKE this blog. It blows the HECk outta MY mind, but HEY... Not gonna hold it against you guys. One thing I'll ask though is you post comments ON the blog. It doesn't help if you send personal messages to me on FaceBook or send me emails. I mean, yea, its nice and they make me smile :=/... but its more about hype here DAMMIT!!! So put comments up here after the post; even if you have to put your ass up in the comments profile as 'anonymous' DO IT!!!!!

UNTO TODAY'S IPOD UPDATE LESSON

Kemmy-kems raps ruler on her teacher's desk to get the class's attention.

"Today, we'll be talking about tag-team rappers. Independent rappers that have formed a union to create some of the hottest HipHop joints. The focus of today's class will be the duo of Method Man and Redman"

Ahhhhhh... screewww it!! I DO like role playing, but not in this type of instance (would love to put a 'wink' face  here, but think it'll be misconstrued :-/).

I'm gonna post up three of my hottest Meth and Red collabo joints. I LOVE when these men come together in lyrical fusion. Not the least 'cos Method Man is one of my Top 20 rappers of all time... YES!! I just made that last sentence, BITE ME!!! I also wanted to have all of Meth's children at one point, but some (i'll refrain from descriptive curse word) beat me to it, so I have to make do with listening to is raspy, sexy voice on joints like 'M.E.T.H.O.D  MAN', or 'Brind Da Pain'
                      "I came to bring the pain hardcore from the brain
                       Let's go inside my astral plane..."

. . .  but i know he loves me, he just need time to neutralize his situation... Imma wait!!

I'll post up my hottest Meth joints another time, but today he'll have to make do sharing the limelight with the smelling armpits of the 'Funk Doc' (ooohhhhh I LOVE him too).

So I'm gonna start of with their first ever collabo... well as far as 'I' know (feel free to leave a comment if I'm wrong), HOW HIGH!! I remember watching this video round about 94/95; right about the time my Meth infatuation was burning strong - Oh MY!! *Kemi fans herself*

That video tape spent alot of time on the constant 'rewind', 'play' and 'freeze'... Poor thing!!

I havent been able to get 'this' particular version of 'How High' on my Ipod as I cant seem to find it. It uses the same beat as Wu-Tang's 'TRIUMPH'. 

Second song posted up is another Meth and Red favorite, 'Da Rockwilder' produced by acclaimed producer Rockwilder (who seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth).

Final Meth and Red track is Y.O.U off their debut collabo album 'Blackout!' The flow of both boys on this joint is AMAZING. Take time while listening to appreciate it... Its a lesson waiting to be taught.

Method Man and Redman - 'How High' original verison

Method Man and Redman - 'Da Rockwilder'

Methodman and Redman - 'Y.O.U.'

And just because i feel like f*cking with you guys today, I'll post an extra that should get 'heads' that haven't heard this in awhile pulling strands out their head . . . ENJOY!!

2Pac (feat: Daz, Kurupt, Meth, Red)

p.s. Speaking out of term for today's post, Kurupt spits FIRE in this one. And of course... so does Meth :)

" Simply Beautiful "

Im having a slow, lethargic day today... Mentally. Not sure why, today just wants me singing the hook to Monica's '93 hit single "It's just one of them daaaayyysss..."  Don't know what it is? Well, i have been extremely stressed lately; work and personal wise but i am working and fighting to get to the surface and get my spunk back. Just as I have everything leveled out, and my balls juggling and the pace I want them (that sounds wrong) i will.

I try to add personal messages to each post 'cos music for me is just not turning on the radio or pressing play on your ipod. Music is therapeutic for me and different genres and specific artistes fit certain moods or periods in my life. I usually know which songs to crank up depending on how i'm feeling. If I have a show I'm nervous about, or when i was younger and had an exam i was sweating bricks over, I'd usually just put on some Wu-tang. That ALWAYS lights a fire on my ass. I feel ready to take on WHATEVER after that. There's just something positively aggressive about it.

Today on the other hand, I made a straight cut for my Al Green collection and I'm gonna share a couple of songs off that with you today. If your feeling a little down and out, tired, frustrated, burdened... hopefully these songs'll help in the exorcism of your negative energy. Engulf your mind and body in the soothing nature of Rev. Al's voice and the cadence of the melody and chords. Sometimes you consciously just have to left it all 'flow' out, like spent water down an unclogged drain.... effortless... painless!! It might hurt coming in, but it doesn't have to hurt going out, and Rev Al's songs 'Simply Beautiful' and 'Free at Last' should help do that for you. 

I'm going to put up the 'Simply Beautiful' version featuring Queen Latifah. I think she brings something to this version that Al didnt have all by himself. Theres a soulful, sensual, jazzy tone to Latifah's voice and demeanor on the song... Luuurrrvvee it!!! ENJOY!!!

p.s. Love the lighting in the 'Simply Beautiful' video as well... check it out!! (this little one is for the filmmakers out there ;-) )

Al Green feat Queen Latifah - 'SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL'

AL Green - 'FREE AT LAST'

"...Facelift Gone WRONG"

What exactly is a 'facelift gone wrong'?  I remember sometime during the first days of Summer last year, my brother, cousin and I decided to erase the tension of the past working week by hitting up the clubs (not like we REALLY needed an excuse to).

The Meat-Packing district (high-end boutique/clubbing district for out-of-New Yorkers/non-'Sex and the City' fans) was the place to be - at least at that time. Cutting a long story short, we decided on club 'PM' and end up by a table next to this (image up North ^).

If ever, there was a more apt specimen of a facelift gone wrong, it would HAVE to be New York millionaire socialite, Jocelyn Wildenstein a.k.a Cat Woman. I would not want to be in the only person in a house in Lagos, Nigeria with Jocelyn as neighbour. She might come round one night to borrow sugar and knowing my luck there would be a power outage while she's standing at my opened door... NO!!! Infact, if this woman lived on my block, I would go door to door getting everyone to sign a petition insisting she wears a big ass cow-bell round her neck. That way we know when this train wreck is rounding the corner... FROM FAR!!!! Jeezzzz!!! I remember the DJ started playing the song 'Real Love' and that got me to my feet with a shriek. She turned to me and smiled... I almost wet myself. To be honest I really cant say JW is a good example of a 'facelift gone wrong' as she WANTED to look like this. Yes Folks!! Jocelyn actually went to her plastic surgeon and asked him to give her more feline features 'cos her millionaire husband was having an affair with some Russion model and she wanted to win him back by making herself look like a cat... why? Wait for it . . . because he loved animals especially Lions and tigers, and they actually kept them as pets. All i can say is, "Don't judge 'cos God loves all his little children" *Kemi sighs*

Anyway, moving away from the long preamble; Since this is a music blog we have to find a way to tie bad facelifts to... well.. MUSIC :-/

While I was on the radio, I used to have this particular theme once a month on my show called Face-Lift Sunday. I'd pull out Top 40 singles on the charts at the moment and get people to guess what song was sampled on it. For instance; Kanye West's 'Touch the Sky' with Curtis Mayfield's 'Move On Up'. Or James Brown's 'The Big Payback' with Total's 'Cant You See' (Facelift Sunday... Get It?). Anyway, it was such a hit on the waves and I looked forward to it as well. It was a lot of research and my knowledge of 'petty music' (refer to first blog) helped immensely. I'll be putting up 'Music Face-Lift' blogs every once in a while, starting today. However, todays offering is with a bit of a twist. Today's offerings are both from the same artist and both involve the 'King of Samples'.  Its the hit making teaam of jay-Z and Kanye West. Kanye (the king of samples) and Jay-Z's (kind of receiving samples) collaborations have spun numerous hits, and I think Kanye's interpretation of old school samples is simple put, INGENIOUS!!! However, the two samples im going to put up today on this post should have been left alone. I personally think anyway. Not that the samples versions weren't any good... actually they spurned HITS, but the originals were just GORGEOUS pieces of instruments laced together and should not have been touched. The remakes went nowhere near the feeling the originals give me.

First up on the block is Jay-Z's ENCORE. Yes! Yes! This was a major hit and the song plus video makes me (and im sure everyone else) want to 'take over the world', but John Holt's voice meandering through the strings and dub beat on the original "I Will" just makes you want to dance to it barefoot by the edge of the sea, with your significant other, flowers in your hair holding a cut open coconut with straw and a paper umbrella in it. It vomits sunshine, love, promise of commitment and 'who cares if countries are at war' feelings in just 3:36mins 

                           "Love you forever, aaaand Forever

                            Love You with aaaallll my heart

                            Love you Wheneeeeever, we're togeeeether

                             Love yo when we're apart..."

Ahhhhhhhh.. THATS the way music should make you feel. It hard to trap that kind of emotion on vinyl these days. Ofcourse it REALLY was originally written and sung by Paul McCartney for is late wife (it's the first song he wrote for her) but Kanye sampled John Holt's version, and i like his version better anyway.

The second is a fairly recent hit off Jay-Z last album "American Gangster". First single, "Roc Boys". Hmmm... where do i start witht his one. I STRONGLY believe they simply lifted the ENTIRE song "Make the Road by Walking" by the Menahan Street Band added simple drum loops and gave it to Jay to spit on, who prolly was like "Ooh, Thats the sh*t!".  At first, i thought it was produced by Kanye as his voice was appears on the hook, so i think, "Why didn't Kanyizzle add his characteristic flavour to this?" His enhanced flavour has always been my defence when people go after him for 'always' sampling. I go, "but he bring his own sh*t to it and it comes out AMAZING". Kanye gets off on this one though, as it was Diddy and his slew of 'Hit-Men' responsible for this. I'm not surprised! Diddy went out after the year '97 and has been living off the credit he had accumulated leading up to then. Anyway, he definitely got lazy with this one... or maybe you just can't add to perfection. 

p.s. The horns on this track are INSANE... Actually, now i understand Diddy... how could you DARE tamper with that?!!

Would love to hear your opinions... ENJOY!!

John Holt - I WILL

The Menahan Street Band - MAKE THE ROAD BY WALKING

"... Breath Easy, Homie!"

Packing for a whistle stop trip to Florida today and my mum is already driving me CRAZZZZZYYY... but i Love her (gosh! that hurt coming out..Lol)

Anyway, i have a ridiculous travel itinerary to look forward to :-/ and needed to build my "breath.. take it easy" playlist. It was either that or throw someone out the window of the plane in frustrated anger... and NO! I'm not talking about my mother *Kemi hides crossed fingers behind her back*

Two of the songs that have made the 'Breath Easy..." playlist are posted below for your listening pleasure. Put down that knife you were contemplating murdering your rambunctious co-worker with... Return to the garage that garden spade intended for the back of your nagging wife's head... Lacing your boss's with bathroom bleach will do you no good *Kemi preaches*, but the melodic chants of Buju Banton on today's classic cut, 'DESTINY' and the Late GREAT Peter Tosh's inspiring cry for Justice and a 'people' movement.... "Everybody wants to go to Heaven, but nobody wants to dieeee.." Lurrrrvveeee it!! ENJOY and Have a LOVELY DAY. See you when i get back to the city... PEACE!!

BUJU BANTON - Destiny

PETER TOSH - 'Equal Rights'

"... everyone is talking about crime, tell me who are the criminals"  MY PEOPLE take note of this statement.

" Gold Chains, Track Suits and those DAMN Addidas Sneakers...

Sometime over the weekend, I managed to peel myself off my computer to head down to the East Village. You see, I've have become some sort of a recluse these last couple months and alienated a whole bunch of my friends unfortunately. It's STRESSSSS!!! 'Kemi has become anti-social and prefers working, eating and sleeping BY MYSELF... in no particular order. Anyway, I'm just managing to get back my spunk so i apologise to all those in Lagos and here in NYC that have complained... Rose, Chude, Daniel and MANY MANY others... I APOLOGISE!!

But i digress...

So i peel myself off my computer (and bed) and head down to the 'Alphabet City' to hang out with my boy Nunu and another friend, Ayo who was in town. Nunu promised me portuguese wine... you know you don't have to ask me twice when alcohol is involved. So i get there, pleasant convo, lots of laughter, clinking glasses... hey it was fabulous company. Then Ayo decides to test my "ol' school" music knowledge. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! BLASPHEMY!!! Even going as far as to ask how old i was, "Lets see if your old enough to remember this one" ME? Kemmy-kems... Dj Kems a.k.a Killer-kems... You wanna take it way back, and you think i 'can't hang'? Naaahhh homie... thats a downright challenge. SO im thinking they BETTER 'come with it'... So Nunu queues up the track on iTunes. Guess what it was?  The Geto Boys'  'My mind's Playing Tricks on Me'... I was damn near insulted! So just for fuller 'show-off' effect I join the song on a couple of bars. Next thing everyone flowing along. It was fun, classic throw back, but no 'hairs standing'.  I mean, i LIVE in the Yesteryears of HipHop. My favorite songs are from the late 80's, early 90's. When I DJ i tend to live in that era, unfortunate for those that want the Top 40's in rotation. I mean, I do like me some Lil' Wayne (LOVE actually) but there is nothing like the way 'You Gots to Chill' makes you feel. Oooh remember that robotic, techno sound? I feel like doing the breaks just thinking about it;

                       "Relax your mind, let your conscience be free

                         and get down to the sounds of EPMD... "

                        

Or how bout;

                        "Turn up the bass, check out my melody, hand out a cigar

                          I'm lettin knowledge be born, and my name's the R
                         A-k-i-m not like the rest of them, I'm not on a list
                         That's what I'm sayin, I drop science like a scientist
                         My melody's in a code, the very next episode
                         Has the mic often distortin, ready to explode
                         I keep the mic in Fahrenheit, freeze MC's and make em colder
                        The listener's system is kickin like solar
                        As I memorize, advertise, like a poet
                        Keep you goin when I'm flowin, smooth enough, you know it
                        But rough that's why the middle of my story I tell E.B.
                        Nobody beats the "R", check out my melody... "

Even 50 Cent who has an ego bigger than a hippo's belly had to give it up for this one.

Or the famous one involved in the bragging war for the true birthplace of HipHop... the simple beat, the monotous piano chords, but packing enough of a lyrical punch to give MC Shan and producer Marley Marl sleepless nights;

                        "The Bridge is over.. The Bridge is over...."

 And then come the famous bars,

                        

                         "Manhattan keeps on makin it 

                           Brooklyn keeps on takin it

                           Bronx keeps creatin' it

                           and Queens keeps on FAKIN IT... "

HAAAAA!! KRS taking No prisoners. Even the 'bridge' residents couldn't deny this as a Classic Cut status. Once again i refer to 50 Cent.

I'm not gonna go into my fav era.. the early DeathRow/Dre years hits. I think ill put out a special post giving ode to that alone. *sigh*

Anyway, i digress even more. So going back to Nunu, and Ayodele (yes oh! we're STILL meant to be on that story), they switch it up and play something else. Now people I was literally quiet for about 2mins. Anyone that knows me properly knows this is a feat. I hadnt heard this song in AGES!! What baffled me more was that it hadnt made my ipod. I PRIDE myself in the fact that my IPOD is a collector's IPOD. There is NO ONE that riffles through it that doesnt go WOW and wanna keep it *'Kemi b-boy stances again, flicks collar*. Anyway, this song WASNT on there. I HAD to give it up to them... in my mind and heart though. Not aloud. I wasnt gonna give them that satisfaction. HECK NO!! 

That I get home almost midnight, thoroughly enibriated.. first thing i do is switch on the computer, download the song, and now IPOD is COMPLETE now. No more embarrassing, silent moments of shame and i will NO LONGER live in the shadow of Nunu and Ayo's 'old school' musical knowledge. 

Wanna know what the song was? How bout it's out the stables of the 'Chocolate Boy Wonder' for a clue. For you merriment click below. Only those that 'KNOW' will enjoy this blast from the past. Let the head bumping begin;

...for EXTRA love and to keep those IPODS updated (don't say i don't do anything for ya'), here's another one. Check Puba's flow on this song. You don't need a video to sell this song. Honestly, while looking to put up this post, this is the first time i've ever seen the video but LOVED the song for YEARS. Close your eyes while listening and imagine Puba at a Sunday BBQ with all your friends, a dixie cup filled with whisky in hand free-styling. You can TOTALLY visualize it. It's effortless, easy as a sunday Morning. This is how lace up a track homie! As he so aptly spits to end the cut;

"...You didn't know I was the bomb, baby
Somebody should've told you... Somebody should have told you "

" Guaranteed to Let You Back in the House..."

Only because i cant sleep... I'm sure it's mainly 'cos my adrenaline is working over-time with my new blog. I cant believe I have one. I see a new addiction developing *'Kemi fastens seat belt* Anyway, you have a double dose today.

Oh Well! I'm posting up one of my favorite songs  EVER, sung by the man William Bell. William was a big proponent of the STAX movement. My Dad is obsessed with this sound. Others under the label you might find familiar; The Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, Johnny Taylor just to name a few. I really dont know much about William Bell's career except that this song was done sometime in the 60's. He prolly was a flash in the pan, 'One-hit-wonder'; whatever you wanna call him, but this song simply ROCKS!!

Everyone and their mama has sampled it, from Jaheim's BEAUTIFUL offering "Put That Woman First", to the Alchemist produced "Worst Come to Worst" (luuurrvvveee it) for the Dilated Peoples. Others to have come across the sample are the Kanye produced "Down and Out" for Killer Cam, I know LUDACRIS messed around with it as well and a couple others i cant remember but my favorite samples have to be Dilated's and Jaheim's. Forgetting Dilated's for a moment, I think Jaheim version was the closest in emotional interpretation to the original. What i mean by this is, the original "I Forgot to be your Lover" is so powerful rekindles lost hope for me. For anyone that is jaded when it come to *shudder*   LOVE   *screws face* this is the song for you. I'm in that place now and i must say the opening lines of 

                 " Have i told youuuuuu, lately that i Love you

                    Well if I didn't darling I'm Soorrryy.."      

.. transports me to a dreamy place where all men are kind, sincere, gentle and trustworthy. HAHa! No, but seriously think about it for a second. William further stresses the point by crooning, 

                   "Did i reach out and hooollld you 

                     in my loving arms when you needed me

                     Now i realise that you need love too, 

                    and ill SPEND MY LIFE making it up to you

                    ohhhhh i Forgot To be Your Lover.. and Im sooooo sorrry.."    

 I mean... lets rewind this sh*t a second homie *sfx of sped up vinyl*  ...SPEND HIS LIFE? Dude did not hug his babe that morning (only that morning ohhh) and he is threatening to SPEND HIS LIFE making it up to her? COMEOONNNN!!! I definitely need me one of those. I hope 'it' comes with a raffle ticket where i can win even more of the 'good stuff'. For a song thats only 2:41 minutes long, it packs a MEAN emotional punch. I dare any man thats in the dog house with his wife, girl friend, 'understanding', life partner to play song/send them the link to this song and not 'get some' by the end of the day. I put good money and a house (thats not mine) on it. Especially at the end when the strings raise to the highest heavens and Mr. Bell belts over them in a pained voice,

              "...I forgot  to be your loveeeer 

                  gonna make it up to you somehow

                  ooooooh Im sorry, Im sorry baby..." 

How could you possibly stay mad to that. Do i DARE believe there's a thing like REAL LOVE? *'Kemi cradles chin in palm of hands and sighs*

For your merriment i'll include Jaheim's BEAUTIFUL version as well.  Wonderful song to forgive your man to ;-)  ENJOY!!

" The MAFIA, You Wanna Be 'em... "

My first post YAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!

Well, this is ripping on a post i put up on my facebook. Hey, its only about a day old on there, so lets pretend it baby-butt new ;-) DEAL?!!

When Lil' Kim WAS Lil' kim. Off the first Album HARCORE, and i think it was on the 'High School High' OST as well. Kim is 'making it rain on them  ho'es' on this song. I love me some Ill Nana but Foxy cant touch Kim on this with  10feet pole and lasso tied to the end of it. Kim's leaving No Room for any contention. Stealing a couple bars of the track to properly describe Kim's flow ,  "lyrically i dust them off like pledge, Hit hard like sledge-hammers, b*tch with that platinum grammar..."

Every since I heard it back in tha day, it has remained not only probably my best Kim cut, but prolly one of my best hiphop tracks ever.

Anytime i hear this song, my shoulder's slouch 'thug style', I'm aggressively bumping not just my head but entire body and wishing i was in a MAD ASS jeep bumping this isshhh LOUD with the windows rolled down in a residential area. This song is the description of my persona on a CRAZY ASS beat!!!

Fav Line:  "...While you struggle and strive, we pick which benz to drive

                        The M.A.F.I.A you wanna be 'em

                        Most of y'all Niggaz can't eat without per diem

                        I'm RICH, I'ma stay that b*tch!"

Also LOVING when the late B.I.G peaks in for a couple seconds witht he bars: "You niggas got some audacity, You sold a million now you half of me, Get off my d*ck, Kick it b*tch"

i stumbled on this version. Apparently (i never knew all these years. Thank God for YOUTUBE) the track was soooo HOT that Biggie did his own version of Lil Kim's song. But he doesnt change anything, he spits the EXACT same lyrics in this version as well. Not even bothering to change the female references, so it FABULOUS specimen for comparison. Kim KILLED it on her track, do you think Biggie reduced her version to saw dust? Personally i don't think he did, but he definitely went HARD on this one, especially the second verse, the flow is MESSY!! I have to admit... But heeeyy... only the BIG MAN could do that... Killing you on YOUR OWN track" ENJOY folks!!

And in the Beginning, there was ...

Where do i start from.... I have been flirting around with starting a blog for a while. Mainly on the encouragement of others. You see, I am a 'healthy' FaceBook user (okay i'm an addict) and i tend to use the allowance given to me for my 'status updates' as my personal blog. But the point is, if i can sum up my feelings, happenings, and mental state in less than two lines, WHY must i have a blog? PLUS, i really dont have the time anyway. My work takes way to much of my time for me to sit down and write to the whole world two page long inner thoughts. I really dont think anyone cares that much about my life.. honestly i dont. HECK!! I DONT.. and i live it everyday (he he)

However a passion of mine i'll always have time for is music. I wonder so many times aloud and in my private thoughts why i find myself in the industry i am in at the moment. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE Television/Film and i am grateful to make a successful living in it, but my first LOVE has always been music. Thats why i loved when i was on the radio. It was a WONDERFUL outlet for me.

Starting off from the very beginning when i could barely pronounce consonants, my parents have funny stories about me singing along to GREATS like Millie Jackson or Glady's Knight, or dancing to IPITOMBI or Chief Ebenezer Obey ("My baidaay is coming... mummy buy shoe for me... ) ahhhh those days. YUP! My parents were the cause of this all madness. If there was ever a house filled with music, it was MINE. You can't dust up crates dating back to even the 50's that i don't have a fairly good knowledge of. It was so bad (yes i am about to tell a story) that the kids in the next house while we were growing up were getting into the 'cool' music of our time and generation. They'd have their drums blaring from ABC's - Ayesha competing with the harmonizing strings from Andy William's, We've Only Just Begun, floating out OUR windows. Ahhhhh.. those days. I remember this one day, during the MC Hammer craze, standing out on our balcony, we asked the youngest child, the girl ( i wont mention names) to BEG her older brothers to 'borrow us' their 'cassette' so we could record it. She disappears into the house and reappears trying unsuccessfully to hide this grin and says *Kemi's heart be still as she recalls this random act of viciousness* "He says NO! That you should go and listen to your 'petty-petty music'."   WHAAAAAAAATTT??!!! How DARE you call Otis Redding 'petty' music. I remember that day like it was yesterday. It was a sad day for some Adetiba kids, ages ranging from 6 - 10 years old, who just wanted to listening to this baggy-pants guy that all the kids were raving about.  *sigh* So we just went back in and continued with the burden that was Al Green. YES!! We thought it was a burden! And the damn 'parental units' not only saw it fit to torture us with this 'screech' sounding voice from some lady called Aretha Franklin, but thought it best to open ALLLLLL the windows as well and play the damn thing on FULL BLAST for all the neighbours within a 5 mile radius to 'enjoy' as well. THOSE DAYS!!! 

The trip to school wasn't saved as well, neither was the routine weekend journey to Ikoyi Club. It was either, Bill Withers, UB40, Marvin Gaye, Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfiled, Dionne Warwick, Peter Tosh, Dorothy Moore, Earth Wind and Fire, Ella Fitzgerald, Letta Mbulu, George Benson, James Brown, Groover Washington Jnr. , Lionel Ritchie, The Temptations, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Jimmy Cliff, Smokey Robinson, Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley *Kemi runs out of breath...* but no freaking BBD.   I HATED them, OH I DID!! But i also LOVED the way Bob James's version of Jamaica Farewell made me feel on a rainy day, my mum's horrible yet calming voice when singing along to Sonya Spence's 'Leaving on a Jet-Plane', or the way my dad's eyes glistened with this far-away look when he listened to Isaac Hayes as he made floaty cris-cross motions with his imaginary maestro's baton... ahhhhh the way the beginning piano chords off 'One Woman' made me feel. (" I fight my way through the 5 o'clock rush hour... as day light slowly leaves the skkyyyyyyyyy... i open the door to that little room we call hoooommme... her loving arrrmmmsss are theeeeree to greet me, ooh her tender lips... are allows there to meet me... ")  Isaac's baritone ALWAYS makes me feel wispy and nostalgic. If anything was to happen to my dad (God Forbid) i would never be able to listen to Isaac without breaking down. Long and short of it all, I FELL INLOVE with 'petty-petty' music, and 'petty-petty' music has taught me about what GOOD music really is. REAL music. No matter what the genre, GOOD music is GOOD music, and i appreciate it. Even if there are big butt women in thongs dancing in the video (heeeeeeyyy), or white guys in cowboy hats yoddling while line dancing * :-/ *

But the underdog were not the under-trodden for much longer homies... Its started off with the acquisition of cable TV a couple months or maybe a year later. "Wow.. TLC are waaaaaayyy cool. The way the wear their convulsion inducing fluorescent baggy pants without falling over... Some one pass me a spoon"   I remember holding the boom-box to the TV and recording Bobby Brown's Humpin' Around... Those where the days. Then the compulsory list whenever one the parents were traveling. " Mummy buy Jade... Ralph Tresvant... Naughty by Nature..." It was all down hill from there.  Now the 'petty' music peddlers not only had the knowledge of petty music, but also the new SWV album that YOU want ...now what'chu gotta say bout that, homie!! *Kemi falls into her B-boy stance* But we still listened to Rufus and Chaka Khan's 'Tell Me Something Good' on the low... heeeeeeeyyyy, after may years of consistent music force feeding , your bound to eventually become an addict; 'Kemi says as she riffles through her ipod for that Brook Benton song... FOUND IT!!!  "...it's a raaaaaaiiny night in Geoooogiiaaaaaaa..." ... STOP JUDGING ME :-(

Anyway, lets round this b*tch up. IF you couldn't guess before, well bleeding know NOW. This is a MUSIC blog. Im gonna take it back for y'all, and bring it all the way down to soulsville.  Don't be fooled by the preamble, this site isn't strictly for old classic soul cuts. Heck No! For those that don't know im a HUGE hiphop fan. And when i mean HipHop, i dont just mean 'Top 40-nusery rhymey-blonde girls in mini skirts licking lollipops singing P-diddy hooks' kind of hipHop. I mean GRIMEY sh*t. Im a huge Wu-tang fan so i know more than my fair share of beats that fit the 'strictly for the jeeps' format, son!! When it comes to music think of me as your resident EVE on this blog (pit-bull in a skirt).

We're gonna take an eclectic look at the world of music. Stuff i think you should remember, stuff i think you should get into, and stuff i think you should look out for... or maybe NOT!! I will NOT however feature posts on Nigerian music except it a favourable review. Mainly because i KNOW the artists will find it extremely difficult taking constructive criticism , so dont have time for that mess. 'Kemi (yes i speak in 3rd person.. so?) doesn't have the patience to cater to anyone's sensitivities. But one or two opinions might slip while in the course of things. I can't help it, my hands (repping my mouth in this case) work faster than my brain works sometimes. So if you KNOW you can be easily offended, PLEASE make a b-line past the muthaf*cking blog and visit Perez Hilton's. A few will be straight up lifts from posts i've already made on my facebook account, but material is hard to come by so forgive me.

And OH YES!!! there WILL be 'cussing', grammatical errors, typos, abusive use of  the asterix, bracket and ellipsis symbols, and other random sh*t.  It's MY blog... DEAL WITH IT!!!!!!

And with that said and done... i'd like to welcome you to 'Kemi Adetiba's "Out the Crate" blog.

*efx of a squeaky door and a haunting voice bellows" "Come iinnn... We have been expecting Yooouuuuuuuuu..." *thunder strike and spine chilling SCREAM from no where* 

Be Worried . . . Be VERY WORRIED!!! *HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ;-)